Jail lawsuit

[Dr Pepper]

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

FORT PIERCE — St. Lucie County commissioners agreed to settle a lawsuit over jail crowding Tuesday while one complained that Public Defender Diamond Litty wasted taxpayers' money by filing the federal court suit.

"We didn't need a lawsuit, and it was a waste of money," Commissioner Chris Craft said. "Everyone's working together now."

The settlement requires the commission to study feasibility of expanding medical facilities at the jail, but does not require it to actually expand the medical clinic.

Litty disagrees the lawsuit had little effect, saying it caused commissioners to open a 320-bed jail wing that wasn't in use. She filed suit when the jail was over capacity with many inmates sleeping on the floor.

"The jail was grossly overpopulated and that pod was vacant," she said. "Clearly that didn't make sense. They wouldn't pay for staffing it and we had no choice but to file a lawsuit."

Litty hired Stuart attorney Bob Watson to file suit in February 2006 on behalf of four inmates alleging their rights were violated by crowded conditions at the jail.

Commissioners agreed in June 2006 to open the empty wing, something they refused to do earlier.

They said they wanted to try recommendations from consultant Alan Kalmanoff, whose critique of the local criminal justice system came under fire from Litty and other court officials.

County and court officials are now working on many of Kalmanoff's recommendations to reduce the jail population.

They include electronic monitoring of suspects who remain free instead of in jail and pre-trial release programs where suspects have to report to officials often to insure they're complying with a judge's orders.

A mental health court monitors suspects to be sure they take medications.



The lawsuit sounds like something that should be done in Escambia County.
* Many overcrowded housing units with inmates slepping on floors;
* Jail staff who are retireing, resigning or being fired at an alarming rate;
* Critical staffing shortages resulting in dangerous facilities for staff and inmates;


Staffing issues and overcrowding issues have been ignored for more than two years. The small bandaid can no longer hide the festering sore. McNesby and his jail leaders are either unable or unwilling to fix the problems.


Time for someone to file suit. Will it be an attorney who files on behalf of a group of inmates? Will it be the PBA who steps up and fights for their members? Only time will tell :roll:

Do we have a pod or wing not being used because of staffing shortages? Re-read the article.

[Dr Pepper]

There is a post that is not being used that would eliminate many from needing to sleep on the floor. There is additional space that can be easily converted into housing space. This additional space has been used in the past when there was no remaining floor space to place inmates.

To use these spaces means you need additional staff and the jail can't staff their current post. Getting inmates off the floor reduces tensions in the cell, which helps the critical staffed shifts maintain order within the facility.


There isn't staff available for the additional units. In fact, the Sheriff claims he doesn't have money available to even pay for OT to staff the unit. He isn't looking for any OT money either as he has jail employees working for comp dollars. For those who don't understand the comp dollars it is the Sheriff's way of forcing officers to work for free with the promise of taking time off in the future or buying the excess leave when the officers finally quits the job in frustration.


Knowing the jail has been overcrowded for two years and the situation will not get better anytime in the near future one must wonder why the Sheriff chose to build a new garage versus additional jail space? I am not faulting the new garage. The old garage may not have looked pretty but I think it was still workable. The jail situation is horrendous. It contributes to the MRSA infections exposing staff to additional risks.


The staffing is a joke. Prior to Dennis Williams shifts had 32 to 34 officers on each shift. On any given day there were 27 to 29 people on-duty providing security requirements. These shifts today have about 24 officers and the best you can expect on duty is 18 or 19 members providing security.


There is a promise that more staff is coming soon. The same promise officers have heard for more than two years. By all accounts there have been routinely 32 to 40 officers vacancies at the jail. What happened to the salary dollars for those positions? At a minimum of $30k per year in base salaries there is $950k to $1.2 million in salary dollars being spent elsewhere. Add to it the matchig money for FICA and retirement contributions and the reapproapriated money is about $1.2 to $1.6 million dollars. The Sheriff needs to hire some people or pay some OT to alleviate staff shortages or buy the accumulated excess leave. If I am forced to work on my day of rest I should be paid for working this OT assignment. The comp dollars wont pay my electric bill or by my kids their christmas.


Where is the money Sheriff? When will PBA address these issues of forced OT and no pay?
* When will PBA address the unsafe working environment?
* When will PBA address the leave requests denied due to critical satffing shortages?
*When will the Sheriff realize that the overcrowding issues contribute to the unsanitary conditions that spread the MRSA virus?
*When will the Sheriff realize that the horrendous working conditions are the reason people are opting to retire early or quit or not seek employment at the facility?
* Will the wake up call come from the PBA or will it be from some attorney suing on behalf of the inmates?


This situation isn't new. Its been festering for more than two years. The bandaid is dirty and nasty. The oozing sore is to big to ignore . The Sheriff and his command staff created these problems and they are either unwilling or unable to correct the problems. I understand the lawsuit. Maybe you should understand the working environment and ask why one must sue to get the sheriff to fix the problems he created. An $80 million dollar budget with no clue as to priorities. I guess if the sheriff had his office in the jail and had to be a part of the situation everyday the situation might get better.


Here is a suggestion: There is plenty of room for his office. It is hidden from the public view. He should come see what he has created. :shock:

Good post. To bad no one who can do anything about it will ever read it!

Have you filed a grievence or contacted a PBA rep? Posting anonymously on a board fixes nothing.

Nice post a lot of truth to it especially about D. Williams cutting staff and screwing the jails so bad it will take for ever to fix. But when they open that other floor we can’t staff I hope you are the first one to be called in to work on your day off. You sound like a deputy with a lot of years of experience at the jail, and I hope you are not some punk kid who just graduate from college and thinks has the right to make it hard on everybody else by making derogatory comments about the place I work at. You want to help? You can file a lawsuit or make an official complaint to the P.B.A. or Help find a solution and stop complaining or you can quit this horrible job that pays your bills and find utopia somewhere else.

CO and proud of it.
Semper Fi.